


And Flowers Bloom Where He Walks

by glorifiedscapegoat



Series: Flowers For The Dead [1]
Category: No. 6 (Anime & Manga), No. 6 - All Media Types, No. 6 - Asano Atsuko
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Gods & Spirits, They're all kids in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:54:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22534303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glorifiedscapegoat/pseuds/glorifiedscapegoat
Summary: Nezumi, a godling from the Underworld, witnesses a nature godling named Shion create a field of flowers.My submission for the 2019 No.6 Zine: Myths & Legends of No.6!
Series: Flowers For The Dead [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1844839
Comments: 8
Kudos: 29
Collections: Myths and Legends of No. 6





	And Flowers Bloom Where He Walks

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! I'm pleased to share my Zine piece for the _2019 No.6 Zine: Myths & Legends of No.6!_ This is an alternate universe loosely based off the myth of Hades and Persephone, with Nezumi being a god who resides in the Underworld and Shion being the nature god who dwells on the surface.
> 
> The PDF version of the Zine is available at: **https://www.etsy.com/shop/No6Zine**. There are so many beautiful stories, cosplays, artworks, and crafts available within the Zine. Everyone worked so hard, and I am thrilled to have been a part of it!
> 
> Enjoy, everyone!

The weather never changed in the Underworld. The sky remained the same black dome with flecks of silver mica year-round, while wisps of gray smoke drifted up from the craters of molten rock strewn throughout the realm. Nezumi sailed over the ground, dressed all in black to avoid being spotted as he went to hide. His dark hair flew behind him like a cape as he ducked through the open door of his family’s home.

The underground estate was by no means impressive. A three-floor wooden nightmare with a stone gate separating it from the world beyond. Nezumi’s father, the God of Nightmares, did most of his work away from home. There were only a handful of wraiths who had seen their tormentor’s living quarters. All had been threatened to secrecy.

Nezumi shut the front door behind him and closed his eyes. _One hundred_. He had until the count of one hundred before the wraith who was It—some kid named Inukashi, who’d starved to death—came searching for him. There were three wraiths, all children, playing hide-and-seek with Nezumi today, but Inukashi had always had a vendetta against Nezumi. They went out of their way to find him first, even going so far as to ignore other wraiths hidden in plain sight.

The boundary was the inside of the estate. The other wraiths had found spots inside cupboards or tucked between chair legs. Awful hiding places, but they were too frightened to go into any of the Nightmare King’s rooms. Nezumi had tried explaining to them that his father was away for at least a few days, and his mother was preoccupied with work.

Running out of time, Nezumi glanced around the foyer. There was nowhere he could hide in here. All the furniture was pock-marked with worm-holes he would be easily spotted through.

It was only a game.

A game Nezumi would not lose this time.

There was one place, Nezumi knew. One place in the house even Inukashi would think twice about entering. A place Nezumi would be punished for going inside without permission—but it was a risk he was willing to take.

Cool shadows pooled around his feet. His own godly abilities had begun to manifest only a few short years ago. The darkness bowed before him and twisted as he slipped through the house without a sound. The God of Shadows might be an impressive title when Nezumi was grown. For now, his undeveloped abilities were little more than an amusing parlor trick.

Hurrying up the staircase, Nezumi dared a glance over his shoulder. Inukashi’s voice sang out from the front gates, “Ready or not, here I come!”

Cursing under his breath, Nezumi hurried down the hall. The shadows reacted to his urgency, twisting around him, concealing him in the dim light. His parents kept no torches in the house. Nezumi’s silver eyes adjusted immediately to the dark—he could see the outline of each door, the corners of the small tables his mother had lined along the walls.

He reached the last door at the end of the hall and ducked inside. 

While many of the rooms in the underground estate were dark and gloomy, the Nightmare King's scrying room belonged to another world. Glimmers of golden light danced among the dust motes. Peering into another realm required a different energy than the decay of the Underworld—a touch of light magic. Sunstones peppered the smooth walls and charged the air with currents of warm electricity. The hairs on the back of Nezumi’s neck stood on end. The air smelled of roses—not the dead ones his mother decorated the foyer with, but living ones. A glass lantern swung from the marble ceiling, illuminating the scrying pool. Its silver waters rippled in a breeze Nezumi couldn’t feel.

The shadows wisped away from his ankles. Nezumi’s feet made no sound as he tiptoed into the room. Nezumi scurried to the pool and sank to his knees. His father’s scrying room was one of his favorite places in the estate—if only because he saw it so rarely. He spared a quick glance over his shoulder. The door to the scrying room peered back as if it were taunting him.

_Father’s not home_ , he reminded himself. _He won’t know I’m here_. The Nightmare King never allowed Nezumi into the scrying room unsupervised. Peering into the enchanted waters for too long would allow Nezumi to see the worlds beyond.

“You’re too young to travel there,” the Nightmare King had sneered the last time Nezumi had asked. “Don’t tempt yourself with something you cannot have.”

Nezumi peered over the lip of the pool. The silver water within reflected nothing. Without the touch of a god, its cool water would sit stagnant for eternity. He lifted his finger without thinking. He would be a fool to give up such a rare opportunity. _A poor, bored fool_. Without his mother’s gentle laughter or his father’s dry wit, there was little to occupy his time. And while playing hide-and-seek with wraiths was usually amusing, Nezumi craved something different.

His brief sessions with his father had given him enough time to learn how to begin scrying. He twirled his finger in a circle. Beneath his hand, the water began to shimmer with a rainbow assortment of colors. Bright blues and beautiful greens unfurled before him. In the pool, Nezumi could make out the distinct stretch of hills and forests. He liked to watch the various animals dart through the branches. The only living things underground were earthworms and insects. There were no pretty foxes or colorful birds who sang gentle tunes in the morning breeze.

Nezumi’s silver eyes danced over the world that fell open before him. Two red lizards twisted in circles around the same leaf in a desperate attempt to wrestle a bit of food away from one another. A soft breeze took the branches and wafted them to and fro. He took a deep breath, wondering what scents would drift through the air in the world above. _Trees must smell like roses_ , Nezumi thought. The leaves would probably be silky beneath his fingers, too, if only he could reach through the water and touch them.

A flash of movement from the ground caught Nezumi’s attention. He turned his head to examine the large animal that had danced over the hillside—except it wasn’t an animal at all.

A young boy raced through the tall grass. The pale afternoon sunlight caressed his auburn hair. As his bare feet kissed the dirt, a line of asters sprang up behind him. Each step created purple petals that lingered for only a moment. A small white mouse hurried behind him. It sprang on the plumes of the flowers that emerged from the ground.

Nezumi tilted his head to the side. Another godling. _He looks about the same age as me_. He felt it like an instinct in his gut. His fingers drew back from the scrying pool. The image stilled until it spread out before him like a dream.

The boy reached the peak of the hill and leaned against the trunk of an enormous oak. Mountains loomed in the distance. Speckles of yellow and orange marked the leaves high above the boy’s head. Summer was creeping away, bowing its head to the approaching autumn. Nezumi knew of the changing seasons even if he had not experienced them.

He watched the boy throw his head back and gasp with delight. He didn’t seem to notice the flowers that grew beneath his fingertips. He didn’t pay attention to the purple blooms that appeared when he shuffled his feet or the mouse that hopped around him.

But Nezumi did. He noticed every movement the boy made. The way the mid-afternoon light glinted off his hair. The rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. The way his white tunic fell around his shoulders. The boy’s amber eyes shone above a smile that stretched all the way across his face. Nezumi had never seen an expression quite like it. 

_He looks ridiculous_. Nezumi leaned closer to the pool, eyes firmly locked on the boy. He seemed to blend in with the forest itself. He looked soft and warm, so unlike the wraiths among whom Nezumi spent his time.

And then another godling arrived. She looked like the boy: brown hair fell around her shoulders in shimmering tresses. Her fists kept her blue skirts from dragging as she heaved her way up the side of the hill.

The goddess doubled over and struggled to catch her breath. The white mouse that had been so entranced by the boy stopped its dancing to blink up at her.

The boy smiled as if this were something he saw every day.

The goddess choked out, “Don’t… don’t run… so fast… Shion.”

The boy laughed. The sound sent a bolt of electricity down Nezumi’s spine. He was stricken with a confusing mixture of happiness and displeasure. He wanted the boy to laugh again, and yet he never wanted to hear such a thing for the rest of his unending life.

_Shion_ , Nezumi thought. The name rolled around in his head like a smooth stone.

Shion’s expression softened as he looked out at the landscape. “This is my favorite place in the world.” Nezumi’s heart caught in his throat. Shion’s voice was gentle. A lullaby as delicate as the purple garden forming around his feet. 

The goddess gave a breathless snort. “Of course. Just like that mountainside by the sea.” She turned to look out with him. “Or that field of roses two days ago. Then there was that river you thought was the back of a serpent. Or how about the waterfall with the crimson rocks?” Moss had begun to form beneath the palms of her hands, speckled with dots of white baby’s breath. “Face it, Shion—every place is your favorite.”

Shion smiled.

“So,” the goddess said, “does your mother already have a plan for the harvest?”

Shion took a small step forward, conjuring more asters beneath his heels. “She wants corn stalks covering this half.” He turned and pointed with his other hand along the length of land at the base of the hill. “A few vegetables here and there. Oh! And some pumpkins.”

Shion turned around and waved his hands towards the mountains. “She’s thinking some beets. Turnips are good, too, so she also wants some of them. Maybe some potatoes—those are easy enough to grow. Oh! It’s not a harvest without carrots! Mom says mortals like them a lot, so we’ve got to have those.”

Nezumi watched the boy’s hand dance, his lips moving with excitement as he painted his mother’s vision. And as he spoke, Nezumi envisioned what the land would look like with this assortment of harvest vegetables decorating it. Though he knew the real thing would put his vision to shame, he thought it would seem… pretty.

The white mouse agreed with Shion as well. Its head bobbed as it scurried around his feet, reveling in the purple flowers.

The goddess lifted her face to the maw of green leaves above her head. "That sounds lovely." She frowned. “Although, I like the planting much better than the wilting.”

As if to punctuate her point, a single green leaf broke away from the branch and fluttered down to land between them.

Nezumi frowned, too. Against his better judgment, he’d found himself being swept up by the passion in Shion’s voice. His hands curled into fists. _Stupid_. The Nightmare King would be furious at him for getting caught up in the imagination of a nature god.

“So do I, Safu,” Shion said. “I wish it would stay summertime forever.”

"I suppose." Safu shrugged. “But then there’d be nothing for us to do.”

Nezumi couldn’t help but agree with her. Without the need for new plants to grow, there would be no purpose for either of them.

"Well, then." Shion lifted his head to the sunshine. “I suppose we’d have to find something else to do.”

_Something else to do_. Nezumi closed his eyes. _Ridiculous_. Even without having met him, Nezumi could tell Shion would never be happy unless he was crafting gardens and introducing various plants to life in the sunlight. Shion had a purpose. He had passion. _Something else to do_. Nezumi sneered. _What a liar_.

Shion sank down onto his knees. The soil drew up as Shion circled his finger in the air. Thin whispers of purple magic rained down like water. And then, as Shion drew his finger upward, a green tendril tentatively came up with it.

_Oh_. Nezumi’s hands slid along the edge of the scrying pool. He watched as Shion opened his other hand and cupped it very gently in an arc above the growing stem. The bud unfurled as Shion drew open his fingers, and a beautiful array of silver petals twisted outward.

Shion smiled, ignoring the beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Nezumi felt a foreign touch of sympathy for him. Conjuring anything from nothing could be difficult, but keeping its corporeal form demanded far more energy.

Safu, paying little attention, sat down. “I’m going to take a nap, all right?”

“That’s fine,” Shion said, waving his hand over another unoccupied patch of dirt. He coaxed up a second green tendril.

“Don’t go running off,” Safu warned. “We don’t know what’s lurking out there.”

Nezumi’s lips drew back into a rebellious smirk. He wondered if she could sense him watching.

“I won’t,” Shion promised.

Safu closed her eyes.

Shion absorbed himself in his work. His hands sailed over the dirt. His nails brushed down silky petals. He murmured under his breath and twirled his wrists in delicate circles. Nezumi couldn’t tear his eyes away. Blue and purple blossoms erupted from the ground at Shion’s feet. As they had when he raced up the hillside, the asters came at Shion’s beck and call.

It was beautiful. So unlike anything Nezumi had ever seen. The gorgeous gemstones Nezumi had dug up from the dirt outside his family’s estate paled in comparison to the treasures surrounding Shion’s ankles. The pale roses Nezumi’s mother decorated their home with could never compare to the vast gardens Shion could summon.

Once he had gone as far as he could reach in either direction, Shion leaned back, his face flushed from the effort. Nezumi’s eyes danced over the garden. Shion sat in the middle of it like a temple. An unmoving structure in the midst of a world that would shift and change with the passage of time. The mouse scurried around the garden, its tiny pink paws dancing over the petals. Nezumi's heart sang along with its excitement.

Shion looked out over his assortment of colorful creations, his expression a mixture of exhaustion and disapproval. Nezumi blinked, confused.

Shion plucked one of the blue blossoms from the collection and brought it to his face. “I wish it could stay like this forever,” he said. He rolled the stem between his fingers, and one of the petals broke off. It fluttered to the ground, carried by the wind.

“But it doesn’t,” Shion continued. He lowered the hand holding the blue blossom onto his lap and gazed out beyond the hillside, somewhere that Nezumi couldn’t pinpoint.

The mouse sensed something had shifted. Its tiny ears twitched.

Shion’s voice was harsh as he whispered, “It never does.”

Nezumi watched as Shion held his hand over his flower assortment. He closed his fingers into a tight fist, and the flowers that had consumed so much of his energy began to wilt.

_Wait. No_. Nezumi’s heart hammered as the petals turned brown. He doubled over, his chin almost smacking the water of the scrying pool. _Don’t. You can’t do that. Stop_.

The mouse squeaked and darted away from the heap of flowers as the life bled from them. It bounced into the forest without a second glance.

The stems withered away into gray stalks. The flowers dropped into a pitiful heap.

Nezumi’s face burned. His vision blurred into a smear of browns and grays. _No, no, no. How could you?_ His nails dug into the edge of the pool. He wanted to scream. To reach through the water and seize Shion by the shoulders. To shake him and demand to know why Shion would _dare—_

"Found you!"

Nezumi's hand slipped. He collapsed into the scrying pool. Cold water closed around his face. The smell of decaying plants struck him in the face like the edge of a sword. He could taste the sunlight, smell the stench of sweat and the remnants of fresh flowers.

He sputtered and shot back, a cascade of silver raining around him. His hair clung to his forehead and neck in thick clumps.

Inukashi roared with laughter. Nezumi whirled. Their translucent hands covered their face as they rocked back on their heels. "Oh, wow," they cried. "Wow, you fell in! That's hilarious."

Nezumi scraped his wet hair out of his face. "What is your problem?" he snarled.

"My problem?" Inukashi snorted. "You were supposed to be hiding. What were you even doing in here?" They gave the room a once-over. "The Nightmare King's not going to like that you came in here."

"Worry about yourself." Nezumi wrung his hair out. The front of his tunic was soaked through.

Inukashi flashed him a brilliant smile. "Well, it doesn't matter. Found you first, so you're It now." They stole a glance over Nezumi's shoulder. "What was so interesting anyway?"

"Nothing." Nezumi angled himself away from the scrying pool. The water had begun to settle. There was a huge puddle on the floor. If luck was on his side, it would dry long before the Nightmare King returned home. "I'm It, huh?"

"Once I find the others," Inukashi replied. "But they're not hiding well, so…."

Nezumi exhaled. Inukashi shot him another brilliant grin before bleeding through the door. _Stupid wraiths_ , Nezumi thought. He scrubbed his hand down his face, smearing the pool water across his lips.

He rose to his feet. Without meaning to, he turned to look back at the scrying pool. The images in the water had begun to fade, but he caught one last glimpse into the other world. Shion’s eyes were closed, his head tilted to the sky overhead. The blue blossom clutched in his hand slipped from his fingers and fluttered to the ground—the only one that remained when the magic was gone.

**Author's Note:**

> At some point, I hope to do more with this AU. I would _love_ to do another part where it flashes forward to the future when Nezumi and Shion are both adults and they cross paths with each other once again. >w>
> 
> Come hang out with me on tumblr: **https://glorifiedscapegoat.tumblr.com/**


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